The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for unloading blanks of paper, cardboard, plastic, etc. that are stacked as blocks on a pallet and that are subsequently supplied as blocks of blanks for further processing or temporary storage.
Large quantities of paper or cardboard blanks are processed by many packaging machines, especially cigarette packaging machines and folding box gluing machines. Such machines are constantly being made more efficient, so that frequently increases in efficiency and output are expedient only if the problem of supplying these machines with blanks could also be satisfactorily resolved. For this purpose, the stack of blanks should be delivered to the machines on pallets.
Methods and apparatus are known where the blanks that are to be processed are supplied to the machines in stacks. However, in this connection it is necessary that special cassettes, boxes, or similar auxiliary means be used for the individual stack of blanks, or band the same in stacks in a particular manner, so that these stacks can be supplied in an orderly manner to the respective machine. Furthermore, special intermediate layers are known for the blanks that are stacked on a pallet, with these special intermediate layers being provided with openings through which a gripping mechanism can extend for removing the individual stack of blanks.
These special auxiliary means or additional measures represent for a customer undue limitations that not only increase the complexity and hence the costs, but also limit the efficiency of the machines. For this reason, experiments have been undertaken to try to remove blanks stacked on a pallet from above in a flake-like manner via friction elements. However, these experiments have not led to usable results, because the function of such measures cannot be satisfactorily guaranteed due to the danger that the blanks catch on one another.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus of the aforementioned general type via which the blanks, such as cigarette packaging blanks and folding box blanks of all types, which are stacked as blocks on a pallet, can be removed as individual blocks of blanks without having to use expensive specialized equipment, specialized containers, or special intermediate layers.